Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-12

| OttI Nv W. DrtE III
dead.housee, and every man and woman
was turned into an amateur but Jealous
nurse. Over in the undergrad the
noise OF banners and saws rang out
in The air, and busy carpenters were
making rough collins 10 carry TO their
bones the dead bodies OF the excur-
s;onists, who, twelve hours before,
had left their homes full of pleasure.
bic expectations Of the enjoyment they
were going 10 have during the vacation
which bad begun.
PROMPT AID ARRIVES.
When news OF the disaster was first
flashed over the wires prompt aid was
at once sent. DIR. Steel, chief surgeon
/ Of the Toledo, Peoria and Western
road, bad come on special train. and
with him were two other surgeons and
taeir assistants. From Peoria also came
LIS. Martin, Baker, Tlueglur, and
johnson, and from every city whence
tie unfortunate oxcursionists had come
! their physicians and friends hur-
nd on to help them. From Peoria
bad also come delegations Of Red Men
and Ancient Order of United Work
men. numbers Of both societies being
on the Inflated train, and 50 after 5
O'Clock III the morning there were plen-
~ OF people to DO the work that needed
such prompt attention.
ANXIOUS RELATIVES AID FRIENDS.
In the town hall was the main hos
piial, and in it anxious relatives and
soToWing friends, while tanning gently
the sufferers faces queried the attend
ing surgeons az they bound up the
wounds. and insisted that there must
be hope.
Down in the dcad-houses fathers.
husbands, brothers. sisters. wives, and
Children tearfully inspected each face
rs il WAS uncovered, and sighed rs the
features were unknown or cried ont in
anguish when the wcll-knOwn face.
sometimes fearfnlly Inaneled, but yet
recognizable, was uncovered. The en-
tire capacity of the little village was
taxed, and kind-learted women drove
~ from mines to give their gentle min
istration 10 the sufferers.
HUMAN IiltNf1 IIt NitEEkNf.
No sooner had the wreck occurred
than n scene of robbery commenced.
Some band Of miscrcants, heartless and
with only animal instincts, was on hand.
and ike cUeiillas who throng the bat
tlc-fieid the night after the conflict and
lilch from the dead the money which
they received for their meagre pay,
stealing even bronze medals and rob
bing from the children of heroes other
worthless cmblcms Of their fathers
bravery, 80 last night did these human
hyonas plumber the dead from this ter
rible accident and take even the shoes
which covered their feet. Who these
wretchos are is not now known. Whe-
thcr they were band Of piclIpockets
who accompanied tho train or some
robbor gang vino were lurking in the
vicinity cannot be said.
4 GORBIBLE SUSPICION,
however, exists and there are many
who give it credit, that the accident
vas a Gclberstely-planned case Of
tiain-wrccling ; that the bridge VS.
st on fire 10y miscr1an.s who hoped t.
seine tie opportunity offered. and the
.d,t that the bridge was 50 far cOl-
umcd at ,he time the train came along,
I'D thc a3Jcd fact that the train Wa
IN hour and half late, are pointed
ont rs evidence Of careful conspiracy.
- seems hardly possible that
nan could be 50 lost to ell
DI,inrrv feeling which animatcs the
hascst of behuman race; bat still men
who will rob dead men. who will steal
fron the dying and viii plumber the
wounded held down by broken beams
of wrecked cars, wounded whose death
Nv fire seemed imminent, can 10 most
ANYTHING which is base, and that is
what these fends in human form did.
they went into cars when fire was
burning ferccly underneath, and
VIXEN the poor wretches who were
pinned there begged them "for
Gods sake to help them ont, stripped
them Of their watches ana jewelry
and searched their pockets for money.
v hen the dead bodies were laid ont in
the cornfcld these hyenss turned them
over in their search for valuables; and
that the plunder was done by an or
canized gang was proven by the fact
that this morning out in the cornfield
sixteen purses, all empty, were found
in one heap. 1t was chastity plunder-
.ng. md had the plunderers been caught
tins afternoon they would surely have
been lynchod.
4 HORRIBLE ITCiDTNT.
There was one incident Of thc acct
cent which stands out more horribly
tlGn al of those horrible scenes. In
the second coach was n man, his wife,
and little child. Ills name coull not
be learned to-day. but il is said he got
on at Peoria. When the accident oc-
Cured the entire family OF three
N2s caught and held down by
broken woodwork. Finally, when
relief came the man turned
to the friendly Iescuers and feebly
said "1ahe out my wife first. | an
afraid the child is dead" So they car
RED out The mother, and as the broken
seat was taken off her crushed breast
the blood which welled from her lips
told how badly she was hurt. They
carried the child, fair-haired, blGe-
eyed girl of three years, and laid her
in the cornicld, dead, alongside
her dying mother. Then they went
lack for tie father and brought
him out. Eoth his legs were broken,
but he crawled through the corn to the
side Of his wife, and feeling her loved
features IN the darkness, pressed some
lran6y to her lips and asked her how
she felt. A feeble groan was the only
answer, and the next instant she died.
Tho man felt the forms Of his dead
wife and child and cried out, MY
Gcd there is nothing more for me to
live for now" and taking a pistol out
of his pocket pulled the trigger. The
bullet went surely through his brain
and the three dead bodies OF that little
family are now lying side by side IN
CkattswOith waiting to be identified.
THE ORIGIN or THE FIRE.
There have been many guesses as to
the origin of the fire which weakened
the bridge and caused the accident, but
30 lar they are nothing but gueSses.
The most probable one is that spark
from the furnace of an engine OF
tain which passed two hours before
caused the blaze. The season has
been very dry hereabouts for
lone 4;ma and alutSt no